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1990 Australian Grand Prix
4 November |number = 500 |officialname = LV Foster's Australian Grand Prix |circuit = Adelaide Street Circuit |location = Adelaide, South Australia |circuittype = Temporary street circuit |lapdistance = 3.780 |laps = 81 |distance = 306.180 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:15.671 |fastestlap = 1:18.203 |fastestlapdriver = Nigel Mansell |fastestlapnation = GBR |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 75 |winner = Nelson Piquet |winnernation = BRA-1968 |winnerteam = |second = Nigel Mansell |secondnation = GBR |secondteam = |third = Alain Prost |thirdnation = FRA |thirdteam = }} The 1990 Australian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the LV Foster's Australian Grand Prix, was the sixteenth and final round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Adelaide Street Circuit in South Australia on the 4 November 1990.'Australian GP, 1990', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr500.html, (Accessed 10/07/2019) The race, which was the 500th World Championship Grand Prix to be held, would see Nelson Piquet sweep to victory for . The final round of the 1990 campaign was heralded by the fallout after the title deciding Japanese Grand Prix, where a collision between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna had settled the Championship in the latter's favour. , in protest of the Brazilian's actions, threatened to withdraw from F1 unless FISA conducted an investigation into dangerous driving, after Senna effectively said that he would instigate a crash between himself and Senna in Japan. Away from the political battles and it was Senna who secured pole position for the finale, beating teammate in another duel for top spot. Nigel Mansell was best of the rest for Ferrari ahead of his teammate Prost, while Jean Alesi got his ahead of the two s and Benettons. Senna duly aced his start to break away at the head of the field, leaving Berger to fend off the Ferrari challenge for second. Behind, Piquet made an excellent start to jump Riccardo Patrese and Alesi off the line, with the rest of the field surprisingly making it through the first corner without issue. The early laps saw Senna eek out a lead at the head of the field, while Berger accidentally hit his ignition switch and lost power, allowing Mansell to sneak into second. Elsewhere, Piquet barged his way past Prost to claim fourth, and duly claimed third from Berger a few laps later, while Aguri Suzuki was an early casualty with a differential failure. Mansell caught up to the back of Senna over the following laps, although he was unable to make a move stick on the Brazilian. Indeed, the pair remained virtually nose-to-tail until lap 43, when a mistake from Mansell saw the Ferrari go skating down the escape road, and hence prompted the Brit to pit. Mansell rejoined in fifth, and with fresh rubber was quickly able to get back ahead of Berger, who had just slipped behind Prost. Senna, meanwhile, had a comfortable lead ahead of Piquet at the head of the field, only for a gearbox issue to send his McLaren sliding into the barriers. Piquet was hence left in the lead, although as the final laps ticked away he would see a scarlet Ferrari get larger and larger in his mirrors. Indeed, Mansell was throwing everything at the Adelaide circuit in hopes of claiming the win, having dealt with Prost with ease soon after passing Berger. Ultimately Mansell would catch Piquet on the final lap, although his hopes of victory were ended when a his lunge for the lead sent him skating wide at turn four. Piquet was hence able to cruise home ahead three seconds ahead of the Brit to secure victory, while Prost completed the podium ahead of Berger, Thierry Boutsen and Patrese. Background The FIA Formula One World Championship was effectively over prior to the trip to Adelaide, with Ayrton Senna the de facto Champion with a race to spare. Indeed, while Alain Prost was within a race win of the Brazilian's tally, the dropped score rule ensured that he would drop too many points to overhaul Senna's tally. The Frenchman would therefore have to settle for second, while Gerhard Berger faced an intriguing fight for third with Nelson Piquet in Australia. Likewise, the Constructors Championship had been decided with a race to go, with holding an eighteen point lead over in second. Indeed, with just fifteen points on offer in Australia there was no chance of Ferrari overhauling the Anglo-Japanese alliance, meaning they had to settle for second. Behind, had seemed to have seized the imitative in their fight for third with , moving eight points clear ahead of the season finale. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. Milestones * 500th FIA Formula One World Championship Grand Prix to be staged.'16. Australia 1990', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/australie.aspx, (Accessed 10/07/2019) * started their 300th race as a constructor. * Andrea de Cesaris made his 150th Grand Prix start. * Philippe Alliot entered his 100th race.'1990 Australian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1990&gp=Australian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 10/07/2019) * 50th race entry for Nicola Larini. * Tenth Grand Prix entry for Johnny Herbert. * 22nd victory for Nelson Piquet. * claimed their fourth win as a constructor. ** powered a car to a 158th victory. Standings With the chequered flag falling in Australia the FIA Formula One World Championship was concluded, with Ayrton Senna proclaimed as the Champion with 78 points to his name. Alain Prost ended the campaign in the runner-up spot, with an official score of 71 points, while Nelson Piquet climbed to third on the final day, sporting 43 points. Gerhard Berger ended the campaign level with the Brazilian but behind on countback, while Nigel Mansell completed the end-of-season top five. In the Constructors Championship it had been another strong campaign for , who ended the season on 121 points. were officially scored in second, eleven off the Champions, while had secured third, moving onto 71 points after their late-season flurry. were next on 57, with some 41 points separating them from fifth placed . Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1990 Grands Prix Category:Australian Grand Prix